There are several medical procedures which require access to a patient's vascular system. Access to a patient's vascular system can be provided by making an incision (sometimes called a puncture, wound, or hole) in an artery (or other blood vessel) below the skin surface. At the conclusion of the medical procedure, the incision in the artery must be sealed.
One technique for sealing such an incision is to place an inner seal within the artery and an outer locking element outside the artery in such a fashion as to seal the incision. The seal is made of bioabsorbable materials which are absorbed within the body over time. The inner seal, the outer locking element, and the suture are usually components of an introducer and sealing assembly. A suture loop is needed to guide and hold the seal, the locking element, and the suture during the sealing procedure. The suture (for example, a thread or a multifilament fiber) holds the inner seal in place and guides the locking element to a position outside of the artery opposite the inner seal. Typically, in such a suture loop, the ends (or other portions) of the suture are glued or tied together to complete the loop.
Similar suture loops can also be used when a closure comprises an inner anchor member and an outer seal, e.g., in the form of a collagen plug, which are held together by a suture loop, or when an outer member and an inner member are clamped together to thereby seal a puncture in an intermediate blood vessel wall.
Additional background on the techniques described above is set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,508,828 and 6,425,911, and U.S. patent applications Ser. Nos. 10/280,086, 10/341,599, and 10/341,598, whose entire contents are incorporated herein by reference.